1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to the field of recreational clothing, and more particularly to skiing pants which may be worn by skiers and converted to skiing shorts or alternatively removed altogether without having to remove skis, ski boots or other footwear.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Trousers which can be converted to shorts by the temporary removal of all or part of each leg are generally known in the art. Generally, the trousers are detachable along the mid-thigh by means of hook and loop, zippers, snaps or buttons. While such trousers may be easily converted to shorts, the wearer generally still must remove their shoes in order to remove the lower half of the garment which generally covers the area below the knees of the wearer.
UK patent application 2271711 discloses convertible trousers in which the lower half of the garment may be removed from the upper trouser portion to convert the trousers into shorts. The lower removable trouser portion which generally covers the portions of the legs below the knees is provided with a side opening allowing the lower half of the shorts to be opened along the length thereof. While the U.K. '711 Patent discloses convertible trousers in which the calf or lower leg portion may be removed while footwear is worn, the converted shorts of the U.K. '711 Patent cannot also be removed. While the wearer is outfitted with oversized apparatuses attached to the feet, such as skis.
Thus, prior art convertible garments are not directed to, nor solve, the unique problems specifically applicable to the recreational and competitive sporting industry. In particular, none of the prior art appears to be directed specifically to converting a pair of skiing pants to skiing shorts. Until now, no pants have been known to utilize removable fasteners to create a removable pant and a removable short together as a single unitary garment. Furthermore, no such combination of removable pants and removable shorts is known to have been proposed for a garment for use in the recreational and competitive sporting industry, and particularly for wear by downhill skiers.
These and other disadvantages of the prior art are sought to be overcome by the convertible skiing pants of the preferred embodiments.